I need cat food advice!

[iconoclastic cat]

Okay, here's the situation: I have two cats who are very allergic to any kind of wheat or beef. I have been feeding them Nutro (Indoor Cat mix), and they like it, but I discovered recently (via Lorien) that the company that makes Nutro is very red (as in "red state" or "psycho fundie coup plotters"). I also found out that PetsMart, where I shop, is also deep red.

So, now I need to find two things:
1. A good kind of cat food that doesn't have beef, wheat, or Republicans in it.
2. A way to get that kind of food (ordering, maybe?)

So far, Google has proved to be more of a pain than anything else. I can't seem to find the ingredients for some of the foods that you people have mentioned before. Any suggestions?

Edits: clarity

[Robeson]

1. Here's a site that has natural and organic cat foods that show the...

...ingredients. http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/Natural_Dry_Cat_Food_s/55.htm

Wow, I didn't know that about Nutro. I had just weaned my cats off of IAMS because of it being a Red company, and put them on Nutro, which they love. Oh well, back to the drawing board. Looks like I'll be finding some new stuff, too.

[Lorien]

2. There's plenty to choose from

are you going for dry food only? Usually it's good to feed a bit of both. I've tried about every human grade cat food available on my guys and the fosters, and they give the highest paws up to Innova Evo and Organix for their dry choices,and neither contain wheat or beef from what I'm seeing on the labels (Innova Evo has no grains whatsoever). Great canned brands include Prairie Nature's variety (Puck is simply mad for the freeze dried chicken and turkey diet, which is the same as their canned chicken and turkey), Merrick (brown rice, no wheat), and Solid Gold blended tuna. I buy my pet foods from the very Blue Pookie's Bow wow bakery (they ship) ; www.pookiesbowwowbakery.com . You can also find additional links on this thread:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=243&topic_id=4388&mesg_id=4388

On edit: they carry everything I've mentioned, but all the products aren't listed on their site. Call or email for specific products.

[iconoclastic cat]

3. Hey, Lorien. Condolences for your loss. I couldn't believe it.

Absolutely devastating to follow.

Thanks for replying, btw. About the food: I have been feeding the four female cats dry food with a bit of wet food. The male cat has had UTI problems, so we keep him on wet; I have been told that finding a food that has over .08mg of magnesium will help with that.

I'll take a look around the links and see what I can find. Thanks!

[Lorien]

8. Thanks IC

:hug:

You might try Evolve brand foods for your male; they contain cranberries which can help with UTIs.

[SW FL Dem]

4. What about senior cats?

My Jamie is 17 1/2 and I have a heck of a time finding food for her. My local pet stores carry only Iams (dry) and Science Diet (wet). The vet wants her on both - dry for her teeth, wet to increase fluid intake because of her age.

[Lorien]

6. I'd go with the Innova Evo and Merrick

both are low glycemic and contain no fillers which can cause obesity and diabetes. Prairie is another good brand for older pets. My 16 year old enjoys all three, and since switching to human grade foods he has lost eight pounds(now weighs 13 1/2), has a shiny coat, clear eyes, and less arthritis pain.I also give him Wellness welltabs which help protect his immune system.

There are some search link in the thread link provided above to help you find holistic retailers in your area.

[SW FL Dem]

9. Thanks

I'll check them out. Weight is NOT an issue for Jamie, at her last checkup she weighed in barely over 6 pounds (She has a thyroid problem).

[Lorien]

10. The foods won't reduce weight unless weight (from carbs) is

a problem. The Innova Evo, in particular, is closer to a natural feline diet than just about any dry brand out there. Prairie canned is another good choice for an older cat who needs added nutrition. You can also ask the vet at waggintails ( www.waggintails.com )his/her advice for a kitty with thyroid issues (I'm assuming she's on tapazol)?

[City Lights]

5. Our cats love Natural Balance.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/products/catfood.html

You can use the link above to check out their formulas and ingredients. A store locator is also available.

I also feed them Wellness, which they like, but not as much as Natural Balance. The one food I've tried that they hated was Paul Newman's brand. They would not eat it and I ended up returning it. It smelled like dog food to me. I don't know if I had a bad batch or what. :shrug:

[Lorien]

7. That's another great brand

Wellness is good too-just a little high in grains for my guys (the dry-I do feed them the wet varieties). None of my guys would eat Newman's own either! Too bad; it's organic. :shrug:

[City Lights]

11. Guess we didn't have a bad batch of Newman's...

Too bad. It's the first Newman product I'll have to give the :thumbsdown: to. Everything else we've tried has been :9.

[serryjw]

18. Einstein was a feline garbage can

and wouldn't eat Newman's Own..I live one block away from Wild Oats that has a huge display but he wouldn't eat it either....He loved Pet Guard.
http://www.petguard.com/

[City Lights]

19. Hi serryjw!

:hi: How are you? :hug: Any new felines?

I'm not familiar with Pet Guard. I'll check it out. :-)

[serryjw]

20. Hey Sweetheart!

You'll be the first to know.....my other thread



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=3774217&mesg_id=3774217

[City Lights]

21. I'm there.

;-)

[expatriot]

12. Both of my cats just told me that

they would not mind eating cat food with Republicans IN it. **burp**

[Eurobabe]

17. BWAHHAAHHAA!!

A little Frist with your meal sire?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Republicans in cat food? Why not?

They could be a useful protein source.

[demnan]

14. No! No! No!

I have to scoop out those litter boxes! If you feed them shit just imagine what you have to scoop out.

[regnaD kciN]

16. My first thoughts, too...

After all, they aren't beef, so they wouldn't cause an allergy.

Then I thought about it a bit more, and realized that the toxin build-up in Republican meat could be many times more hazardous than Mad Cow. Best to stay away.

;-)

[superconnected]

15. well I'm a vegetarian and I don't mind my cats eating food with

republicans in it. They are a vegetable, right?

Either way, at least someone finally found a beneficial use for them.

[superconnected]

22. Isn't there a way to kill toxins in meat by cooking it?

Don't worry, I'm not hanging around parking lots looking for magnetic ribbons just yet.

[Lorien]

24. No, not if the toxins come from prions in downer animals

the a virus so small and tenacious that it clings to utensils that you use to scoop out non-human grade pet foods. Not even bleach will touch it.

Downer animal could = mad cow disease (see the Health forum for more details).

[kestrel91316]

23. Advice from DU's cat vet:

My favorite diets for cats are:
Science Diet
Max Cat

Also acceptable:
Purina One Sensitive Systems
Costco's house brand (Kirkland Signature)
Iams (though it does have a little fish

Important to not feed any food containing any fish whatsoever (Iams does, but is great otherwise) unless there is no alternative. So pick these brands but still avoid any fish-flavored, and double check the ingredients list. Fish is inappropriate in cats - they evolved in the Sahara Desert (Felis libyca) where there are no fish, which probably explains the high incidence of urinary problems, GI problems, and skin problems in cats fed anything with fish. Fish OIL is almost unavoidable as an ingredient, and is not so problematic.

Avoid cheaper dry foods as the higher amounts of vegetable protein vs animal protein causes a urine pH too high.

Canned food is not necessary if the cat is being fed a top-quality dry food.

Never feed anything containing onions, garlic, or (ideally)fish. Avoid dairy products, people food, table scraps. Avoid canned food. Can't go wrong with these basics

I pay attention to what my patients are eating and so can correlate dietary problems with specific disease problems, and you would be AMAZED how much dietary choices really matter for kitty's health.

[Patiod]

25. Canned food is not necessary? Explain that to miss Little

in person yourself, and wear a claw-proof suit to do it!!! The damned thing lives for wet food. We've cut her back to a 1/2 teaspoon at each feeding, but it's clearly the highlight of her day.

We made the mistake of starting her on canned food at breakfast-time, which she moved back, back, back until now she agitates for it on her own little crepuscular schedule -- 3:30 am and 6:00 pm.

We will never feed another cat canned food again, but we won't stop this one. She already "visits" the neighbors when they're eating, and we wouldn't want her lighting off for greener, more-wet-food pastures.

Fortunately, she likes all the high-quality dry food we get her, whether Nutro or a local company's product http://www.annamaet.com/cats/index.html

Our vet agrees with you on the fish, and explains the sores the Little occasionally gets on her mouth to my SO's occasional lapses in judgment in feeding her tuna or fish-flavored cat food.

[Lorien]

26. None of the brands you mention contain human grade ingredients

The FDA has very different standards for human grade meat vs. pet grade meat. Basically ANYTHING unfit for human consumption can be put into pet foods-including brands like Iams (it's all about corporate profits, after all). That doesn't sit well with me.

[kestrel91316]

36. It doesn't sit well with me aesthetically either .............

there is a substantial "ick" factor to this, but it doesn't appear to be a problem for pets. Since the advent of commercially prepared, scientifically formulated pet foods (as opposed to feeding scraps and human food mixtures) our cats' average life spans have now reached 15 years.

A diet formulated from human-grade foods would not be affordable for the vast majority of pet owners and then the pets would be fed scraps and irrational mixtures and then we would be right back where we were 100 years ago. I prefer medical progress.

I prefer not to dwell on the aesthetics of the deceased ingredients of Eddie's chow. If he were catching and eating mice and birds that would be really icky, too. Especially with the cat's tendency to bury food and come back for it later.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. I have often wondered why a desert creature like F. lybica

and its descendants get all unhinged over tuna, a food that was quite unavailable in the deserts of North Africa. If they aren't supposed to eat it, you'd think they'd have evolved so as to not like it, but they really, really do like tuna. Of course, they like beef, too, and I've never seen a pack of cats take down a cow...

[Lorien]

28. Some cats exist primarily on a fish diet:

"Fishing cats frequently enter water to take fish, frogs, crabs and even molluscs. They also prey on snakes, birds and small mammals. They are said to have taken calves, goats and dogs and will scavenge the carcasses of larger animals. A fishing cat is known to have killed a leopard (The Cat that likes water. Animals: The Independent Zoo Review. 1 (6), 1991, p. 3)."

Domestic cats on coastal villages also eat a diet high in fish, as do cougars, lynx and bobcat during salmon season.

[superconnected]

29. my cats get tuna fish.

[kestrel91316]

33. HIGHLY inadvisable.

The risk of NASTY skin problems ("tuna head", generalized dermatitis), potentially dangerous gastrointestinal disease (vomiting, diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease) and very dangerous urinary tract disease (inappropriate urination, bladder infection/irritation, crystals/stones, obstruction) in cats fed fish is far too high to warrant its use as food in any cat.

Do as you wish, but don't say you weren't warned........

[kestrel91316]

32. You are correct about the Asian Fishing Cat, however

this is not an ancestor of our domestic cats. I had not heard of seasonal consumption os fish by certain large cats..........the seasonality may be the key to avoiding major trouble, or it is entirely possible they DO get into trouble with it and die of say, a urinary tract obstruction, and because they sicken and die in the wild we humans are simply unaware of it? Don't know about this.

As for domestic cats in coastal villages eating primarily fish, all I can say is I suspect their average lifespan is NOT the 15 years that we see in well-cared-for housecats.

[kestrel91316]

30. Some people get unhinged over crack cocaine, too, BUT

that doesn't mean it's good for humans.
:evilgrin:


I have found many cats who are REPULSED by fish. I think you have both in the species, fish likers and fish haters, but in the wild this would never have been an issue as there are no fish in the Sahara.

[kestrel91316]

31. The apparent equivalent to beef in the wild is mice/rats - mammals!

[Napoleon Dynamite]

34. I don't mean to be argumentative, but explain

the natural diet thing. So cats didn't eat fish eons ago when they were in the wild and shouldn't eat it today. I can go for that. But wouldn't the logical conclusion of that line of reasoning be we should be feeding a raw meat diet to our cats today? That would have been the natural diet of cats years ago. Why not today too? Ingredients in Science Diet Nature's Best first three are Brewers rice, corn gluten meal, animal fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid) before ever getting to any form of meat. How is this a healthy diet along the lines of what cats ate before domesticated?

I do agree with feeding cats a diet more like what they would get in nature, but I'll go along with Lorien. I use other brands than the ones you listed, brands which use higher grades of meat. I use Wellness, have used Natural Balance, and heard good things about Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul too.

[kestrel91316]

35. A raw meat diet is widely acknowledged to pose a public health threat

due to the risk of the pet acquiring infectious disease from the uncooked meat: ie, Salmonella, Campylobacter, tapeworms, etc. If the pet acquires, these it is VERY easy for them to give it to people in the home, some of whom (especially if immunosuppressed) could become extremely ill or die. Also, the pet involved could die.

When cats are in the wild eating a "natural" diet, the average life span is 2 years. When they live in the home and are fed a properly formulated high-quality commercial cat food they live an average of 15 years. I am not going to argue with success.

Are you citing the ingredients for Science Diet's DRY chow natural formula? A dry food cannot be formulated with too high a percentage of animal protein vs plant protein; it will have NO shelf life. This is food chemistry 101. If you look at the bag of regular Science Diet you will find poultry or chicken right there near the top (not AT the top of course, for the previous reason).


Science Diet and Max Cat are two of the foods that I find to be LEAST associated with diet-related diseases in my patients. Probably because their formulas are optimum for the cats. Again, I am not going to argue with success, particularly when that success is predicted by verifiable fact.


*** kestrel - "Still practicing fact-based veterinary medicine after all these years" TM ***